ERIN’S ULTIMATE GUIDE TO BLOGGER AND CONTENT CREATOR ESSENTIALS

ONE OF THE MOST ASKED QUESTIONS IN MY INBOX IS FOR TIPS ON BECOMING A BLOGGER. AND MOST OF THE TIME, PEOPLE SPECIFICALLY WANT TO KNOW WHAT PRODUCTS & WEBSITES I RECOMMEND. SO I DECIDED TO PUT TOGETHER A HUGE GUIDE TO CONTENT CREATOR ESSENTIALS. SAVE THIS POST BECAUSE I UPDATE IT REGULARLY WITH NEW PRODUCTS, WEBSITES & SUGGESTIONS AS THE INDUSTRY CHANGES!

THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO BLOGGER AND CONTENT CREATOR ESSENTIALS

THIS GUIDE IS BROKEN DOWN INTO DIFFERENT CATEGORIES. THERE ARE DIFFERENT TYPES OF PHYSICAL PRODUCTS & VIRTUAL TOOLS I USE TO MAKE MY BUSINESSES RUN. I’VE ALSO BROKEN THEM DOWN INTO BLOG & CONTENT CREATOR CATEGORIES.

BECAUSE NOT EVERYONE IS LOOKING FOR TIPS TO LAUNCH A BLOG / OTHERS DON’T CARE AS MUCH ABOUT CONTENT CREATION.

I’VE BEEN BLOGGING PROFESSIONAL FOR ALMOST A DECADE, SO THERE’S BEEN A DECENT AMOUNT OF TRIAL AND ERROR.

ESSENTIAL TOOLS FOR RUNNING A SUCCESSFUL BLOG

• PLATFORM: I USE WORDPRESS.ORG (NOT .COM) FOR THIS BLOG & EVERY OTHER WEBSITE I CREATE. I DON’T RECOMMEND USING SITES LIKE WIX OR SQUARESPACE FOR A BLOG BECAUSE THEY ARE MUCH MORE LIMITED IN THEIR CAPABILITIES. SITES LIKE WIX ALSO USE AN UNCOMMON LINK STRUCTURE WHICH AREN’T AS GOOD FOR SEO.
• HOSTING: I’VE BOUNCED AROUND A BIT BUT FINALLY LANDED ON BLUEHOST AND HAVE NEVER LOOKED BACK. IT COSTS LESS THAN GODADDY & HAS BETTER CUSTOMER SERVICE. PLUS, THE WEBSITE IS EASY TO NAVIGATE.
• BLOG DESIGN: BE WEARY OF COMPANIES TRYING TO SELL WEB DESIGN & BRANDING SERVICES. YOU’RE GOING TO PAY A HUGE PREMIUM. I RECOMMEND KEEPING COSTS LOW, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU’RE GETTING STARTED. CREATIVE MARKET IS A GREAT PLACE TO SEARCH FOR PROFESSIONAL BLOG THEMES YOU CAN LOAD & CUSTOMIZE YOURSELF.
• PLUGINS: PLUGINS ARE HOW YOU CUSTOMIZE YOUR BLOG & MAKE IT RUN MORE SMOOTHLY. MY BLOG HAS A TON OF DIFFERENT PLUGINS RUNNING THAT DO EVERYTHING FROM HELP WITH SEO TO MAKING THOSE INTERACTIVE MAPS YOU SEE IN MY TRAVEL POSTS.
• SEO: NO GATEKEEPING HERE, I USE TWO SERVICES: SEMRUSH AND AIOSEO. I WOULD SAY AIO SEO IS BETTER IF YOU’RE JUST GETTING STARTED (I STILL USE IT TO THIS DAY) & SEMRUSH IS GOING TO BE NEXT LEVEL, USE AS YOUR BLOG ADVANCES.
• SOCIAL MEDIA AUTOMATION: I PRIMARILY USE LATER AND TAILWIND. I USE LATER TO SCHEDULE OUT MY BLOG CONTENT ON FACEBOOK, TWITTER, PINTEREST & INSTAGRAM STORIES. I USE TAILWIND SOLELY FOR PINTEREST (BUT IT’S DEFINITELY ONE OF MY MOST USED SUBSCRIPTIONS)!
• PLANNING & PRODUCTIVITY: TRELLO IS MY BEST FRIEND WHEN IT COMES TO CREATING WORKFLOWS, TO DO LISTS & MANAGING MY LIFE.
• MONETIZATION: THIS IS A GIANT CATEGORY THAT WILL VARY SIGNIFICANTLY DEPENDING ON YOUR BLOG CATEGORY. IN GENERAL, I RECOMMEND STARTING WITH GOOGLE ADSENSE. AS YOU START TO GROW YOUR BRAND & BLOG, YOU CAN ZERO IN ON PLATFORMS THAT CATER TO YOUR NEEDS & AUDIENCE.
• GRAPHICS EDITING: I ACTUALLY STUDIED GRAPHIC DESIGN & LEARNED HOW TO USE PHOTOSHOP IN COLLEGE – BUT HONESTLY DON’T USE THEM AT THIS POINT! IT’S SO MUCH EASIER TO USE CANVA FOR CREATING AND SHARING GRAPHICS FOR MY BLOG & SOCIALS. HERE’S A LINK TO GET A FREE 30 DAY TRIAL OF CANVA PRO TO SEE HOW YOU LIKE IT!
• STORAGE, FILING & BUSINESS RECORDS: ONCE AGAIN I USE GOOGLE! I LOVE THAT I CAN ACCESS MY GOOGLE DRIVE FROM ANYWHERE. I USE IT FOR STORING PHOTOS, SCHEDULING & SUBMITTING CONTENT, TRACKING MY INCOME & COLLABORATIONS, ETC.
• EMAIL MARKETING: I USE MAILCHIMP FOR MY NEWSLETTERS. IT’S EASY TO USE AND BUDGET FRIENDLY. THEY OFFER FREE TRIALS & YOU CAN GET A $30 ACCOUNT CREDIT HERE.
• GETTING EXTRA HELP: NEED SOMEONE TO HELP YOU WITH YOUR WEBSITE? LOOKING FOR HELP BUT NOT READY TO HIRE SOMEONE FULL TIME? UPWORK IS AN AMAZON RESOURCE FOR HIRING EXPERTS IN VARIOUS FIELDS IN CONTRACT WORK. WHETHER IT’S A LONG TERM PROJECT OR A QUICK 20 MINUTE FIX, IT’S A HUGE LIFE SAVER!
• CONTACT FINDER: LOOKING FOR A CONTACT AT A COMPANY? WHETHER YOU’RE LOOKING TO COLLABORATE WITH A BRAND OR NEED TO GET IN TOUCH WITH SOMEONE PROFESSIONALLY, HUNTER IS A GENIUS APP/CHROME EXTENSION YOU CAN USE TO FIND EMAIL ADDRESSES ANYWHERE ON THE INTERNET.

ESSENTIAL CONTENT CREATOR TOOLS

• EDITING: THE MAJORITY OF MY EDITING IS DONE IN LIGHTROOM. BUT SOMETIMES I’LL ALSO USE APPS ON MY PHONE.
• OPTIMIZE YOUR BIO: WHEN YOU SEE SOMEONE’S LINK IN THEIR BIO START WITH “LINKTR.EE”, IT MEANS THEY’RE USING LINKTREE TO CREATE KIND OF A HUB FOR ALL OF THEIR LINKS. THEY OFFER BOTH FREE ACCOUNTS & PAID ACCOUNTS WITH UPGRADED FEATURES.